Some Basics of Digital Photography

Overview. Digital photography has revolutionized photography. Quite a number of colleges and universities are moving away from teaching film photography and going totally with digital. Digital photography offers the following conveniences:

Digital cameras use memory cards to record images, and these images can easily be deleted from the card or computer. Film, on the other hand, cannot “undo” or delete its picture.

Digital cameras offer many automatic features, which make it easier to capture challenging images (e.g.: fireworks).

Instead of a small viewfinder, digital cameras often feature Liquid Crystal Displays (LCDs), which range in size from 1.8” to 3.5”. While digital cameras originally featured both viewfinders and LCDs, the trend is moving away from viewfinders on the point and shoot models-how might this be a problem?

Most people took their film to a processor to get their pictures, today, many people print their own. However, it is rarely economical to print your own images, taking into account the cost of printer ink, and the wear and tear on the printer itself. If you are printing yourself, I suggest you do the following experiment: place an index card on your printer and keep a count of how many pictures it takes before your printer is running low on ink…you may be surprised…generally it costs at least 2x ~ 3x more to print yourself, and the ink will deteriorate in a few years as compared with commercial processing, which will last considerably longer.

Megapixel. One million pixels. A pixel is the basic dot of an image. Basically, the more megapixels, the larger you can make a clear image. Some basic examples, your mileage may vary somewhat based on your camera:

2 megapixel camera ~ 5x7

3 megapixel camera ~ 8x10

5 megapixel camera ~ 11x14

10 megapixel camera ~ 20x30

Having a camera with more megapixels does not necessarily make it a good camera, but it does mean you can create a larger image. Remember, your camera generally gives you a choice of what megapixel setting. If you set it at the highest setting, you will be able to enlarge an image to the maximum limit of your camera. If you set it low, you will maximize the number of images you can capture on your memory card. Note: two cameras at 10.0 megapixels are not necessarily equal.

Point and Shoot Digital Camera ~ this is a good camera for a beginner or someone who doesn’t take many pictures. It tends to have more simplified menus.

Bridge Camera ~ A camera with enhanced features, usually in the zoom area, but also in other areas, that is more sophisticated than a point and shoot camera but less complex than a digital SLR.

Digital SLR ~ digital version of the single lens reflex film camera

Zoom Feature ~ normally, thinner cameras have a 3X or 4X zoom, because there is very limited area for the lens to extend.

Anti-Shake Feature ~ virtually every camera maker has an anti-shake feature, and here are some examples:

Canon: "image stabilization"

Nikon: "vibration reduction"

Fuji calls it "picture stabilization"

Sony calls it "super steady shot"

Olympus calls it "image stabilization"

Samsung calls it "advanced shake reduction"

Instead of film negatives, we have memory cards. There are regular speed memory cards and high speed memory cards. High speed memory cards enable you to download images faster to your computer, if the computer is fast enough to handle.

Important Note: Older cameras (older than two years) may not be able to accept higher gigabyte (GB) memory cards.

Some Common Picture-Taking Modes: Portrait Mode ~ blurs background, enhances skin tone.

Landscape Mode ~ makes sure everything is sharp.

Sports Mode ~ provides a fast shutter speed to catch the action

Night Mode ~ extends shutter speed (note-wise to use a tripod in this mode)

Movie Mode ~ enables you to take moving pictures, often with sound, and while you may not be able to zoom in while this feature is in use, it is handy to have.

Sunset Mode ~ enhances sunset pictures

Museum Mode ~ silences camera increases shutter time, deactivates flash

Bright Light and Low Light Situations

What is ISO? ISO stands for International Standards Organization, but you can think of it as Image Sensitivity Optimization. This is roughly equivalent to the old film ASA rating. Some notes on ISO:

ISO is increasing in cameras, meaning you can get more pictures in low light situations than ever before.

Set ISO at auto setting if you’re not sure what you’re looking for…or

Set ISO at a low number (e.g.: 100) if shooting in daylight.

Set ISO at a high number (e.g.: 400-800) if shooting in low light.

Warning: setting ISO at very high numbers, such as 1600, can create something called “noise” on your picture. Noise is the digital version of graininess found in film.

What is AF? AF stands for auto-focus

Face Detection Mode ~ is actually a focus mode, means the camera can recognize a face and focus on it even if it is not centered.

Smile Detection Mode ~ here you click the shutter and camera waits until subject smiles.

What Kind of Camera Do I Need?

What will you use your camera for?

Family events?

Sports?

Nature images?

Landscape images?

Buying for a teenager?

Will you enlarge your images? How large would you like them to be?

Buying a Camera. Most point and shoot digital cameras come with the following:

Built-in flash

Rechargeable battery

Battery charger

Software on CD/ROM to load onto your computer

Most point and shoot digital cameras do not include the following:

Memory Card

Damage protection – consider this in purchasing a camera, just consider how often you see a camera get dropped…if you think a warranty will cover that kind of thing, think again.

Glossary of Photographic and Imaging Terms

Let’s start with various file formats:

Image File Formats ~ Digital cameras and imaging software utilize different image file formats, to help reduce confusion they are listed below:

GIF ~ Graphics Interchange Format ~ This is a standard file format often utilized for internet graphics. An image saved in GIF format reduces both resolution and color data, and so is not recommended for use by photographers.

JPEG ~ Joint Photographic Experts Group ~ This is a standard file format most frequently utilized by digital cameras (they capture JPEG formatted images). The JPEG format compresses image information to create smaller files. JPEG files do lose image data (this is known as lossy compression), and as compression increases there is a loss of image quality. It is most likely that the digital camera you are using now utilizes this format.

RAW ~ often utilized by professional photographers, these massive files contain plenty of image information (actually all of it), and can be more easily manipulated in software imaging programs, such as Photoshop. These huge files require a great deal of hard drive space to store. Some higher end cameras allow the photographer to simultaneously capture both a JPEG and RAW formatted image. The Nikon NEF image is a RAW file format. NEF stands for Nikon Electronic Format.

TIFF ~ Tagged Image File Format ~ TIFF files are a standard format that can maintain image data or quality. These are the files often used by photographers in digital imaging/editing programs, such as Photoshop.

Now That You Have Some File Format Basics, Let's Review Terms A through Z

AF ~ Autofocus ~ a camera feature providing automatic lens focusing to help ensure image clarity.

Bridge Camera – a camera that is beyond a point and shoot but not as complex as a digital SLR.

CCD ~ Charge Coupled Device ~ This is a common image sensor used in digital cameras. The CCD in reality sees only black and white images and must have red, green, and blue filters built in to capture color images.

CMOS ~ Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor ~ This lower energy sensor is also used commonly in digital cameras. Some examples include the Digic III & IV by Canon.

Digital Zoom ~ Overrated feature of digital cameras that digitally enlarges an area to achieve the appearance of a telephoto zoom. However, the quality is not up to par with an optical zoom. SEE ALSO: Optical Zoom

DPI ~ Dots per Inch ~ Measure of the number of vertical or horizontal dots in an image. The more dots, generally the larger an image can be enlarged when printed. Internet images generally do not require a high DPI.

Full Frame Sensor ~ Sensor which measures approximately the size of a 35mm film negative.

ISO - International Standards Organization, which determined the how sensitivity would be measured. They decided that sensitivity would be closely calibrated with film speed ratings. You can change the ISO on your digital camera, or leave it on automatic.

LCD ~ Liquid Crystal Display ~ The most frequently used screen utilized on digital cameras to view images.

Memory Card – This is a small plastic card that has the capacity to store digital images captured by a digital camera. Basically the film of a digital camera, but images on this card can be deleted by the photographer using their camera or computer.

Noise ~ Usually when ISO levels are increased too far, noise is the result. Noise appears on an image looking like grain, rain, or static on a TV screen. In film photography, when pictures were enlarged beyond the negative’s resolution, grainy pictures were the result. You could actually see the silver particles that composed the negative. Noise is the digital equivalent of grainy in the film world.

Pixel ~ Shortened version of "picture element". This is the smallest part of an image that can be controlled by a computer. The basic dot of an image.

TTL ~ Through the Lens ~ A term usually utilized with regard to flash units that measure the flash needed by bouncing a small light off a subject.